The Sound of Christmas

Christmas 2016 is just 12 days away and the time to enjoy this festive season (and a spiritual one at that for Christians) would be now rather than on the day itself.

And, aside from the feasting, gatherings, shopping, Christmas services, charity givings and so forth, this is also the time to listen to Christmas carols and songs.

Here are just a sample from YouTube for your refreshing:-

1) Winter Wonderland / Don't Worry Be Happy - Pentatonix (ft Tori Kelly)

Pentatonix is a surprising discovery for me (better late than never) and their acapella-style will put a smile on your face with added finesse from Tori Kelly. 

2) Trans-Siberian Orchestra -- Christmas Canon (video)

J. Pachelbel's Canon in D is renown the world over and this rendition will not disappoint as it stretches and sketches the depth, height, width and immensity of Christmas.

3) Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You 

This song by powerhouse songstress Mariah Carey will help you reflect on those dearest to you during this Christmas. (Daily Refreshing wishes that you would be home for Christmas with loved ones.)

4) Gayla Peevey - I want a hippopotamus for Christmas

This song was recorded way back in 1953 and sung by Gayla Peevey at age 10. It is whimsical yet commendable as she negotiated her way through the song with earnest patience and conviction. This is one tall order for Christmas!

5) O Holy Night - Hometown 

Be blown away by the singing of Hometown -- the next biggie after One Direction(?), and be drawn into the divinity of that first Christmas which was heralded by the Star of Bethlehem and a host of angels.

Have a Blessed Christmas today!

Can't Get Enuf of Star Wars?

If you are still mesmerised by Star Wars and its seemingly never ending stream of movies and memorabilia, then the following spread of pewter by Royal Selangor may well perpetuate the force to be with you. Enjoy.   

Click here to explore the pewter world of Royal Selangor.

Inspiration on Finding Happiness

This is an endorsement found on a recently sighted bag which goes to show that inspiration is everywhere. 

"My best advice for finding inner happiness is to reach outside yourself, to use your talents and brains and personality to make life better for someone else. I've been on the receiving end of that, and I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that it changed my life." -- Nick Vujicic 

Christmas Tree Decked with Guilt-free Treats

Click here and indulge in products by Marigold.

Light Up with AZEL MONO LED Lamp

For more of Aztech Group's products, please click here.

Embrace Lifelong Learning

Photo credits: Lifelong Learning Exploration Centre

Photo credits: Lifelong Learning Exploration Centre

What Does Your Boss Want From You?

The list may well include productivity, consistency, reliability, high quality work, quickness, honour (deference), and ..... right at the end, loyalty. Honestly, he would get a canine or bowwow if loyalty is the name of the game.

And, if your boss happens to be a legendary Superboss in the likes of George Lucas, Mary Kay Ash, Larry Ellison and Ralph Lauren, what would he or she want from you?

Photo credits: matthewssteer.com.au

Based on his reviews of numerous articles and books as well as more than 200 interviews conducted, Sydney Finkelstein surmised that Superbosses value these 3 attributes the most:

a) Intelligence;b) Creativity; and c) Flexibility.

Daily Refreshing would say that Intelligence encompasses Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Agility and other soft skills such as the ability to lead, communicate, suss out the truth, ask incisive questions, organise, delegate and supervise.

Creativity would entail being a thought leader and innovator who expands his vistas and extends his horizon to do things with a fresh and invigorating perspective and give birth to new products or services.

Flexibility or agility is now in vogue for business folks with catchphrase such as "Adapt or perish". George Bernard Shaw has well noted that: "Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” Albert Einstein went even further to state that: "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change."

In case you are wondering whether you have the privilege of working for a Superboss (and become one yourself someday, if you learn to survive under their tutelage), Finkelstein have grouped them into 3 types for you to identity as follows:

A) Glorious Bastards 

- Care only about winning; ultimate hard drivers.

B) Nurturers

- Bring others along and care deeply about their success.

C) Iconoclasts (think "Icon")

- Inspires with their single-minded passion in their creative fields.

The power of change in your own hands. It is not your bosses' job to change you, especially when you are resistant to change or seek to get off the hook by spouting that you do not wish to change for the sake of change.

Renew your mind, and change for the better. Your best is yet to be. It's all up to you.

"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change." -- Carl Rogers

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." -- Barack Obama

Sydney Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and the author of Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master The Flow of Talent (Portfolio/Penguin, 2016)

Bibliography:

pages 104 to 107, Harvard Business Review (January - February 2016)